Most folks out there consider today to be “TGIF” day, but to us, it’s just another grueling day of retirement in our dream home. Damsel took this photo today after we finished walking the dogs, which seems to be one of the more important chores in retired life. Click on the image to enlarge.
When the landscaping crew installed the replacement saguaro today, our two miniature pinchers (Cabela and Beethoven) were totally concerned about the activity going on out front. I snapped this photo of them atop the love seat while the work was in progress. Click on the image to enlarge.
We went out on the patio last evening and I saw something yellow on the cholla across the RV drive to the west. I thought it was a cholla flower, but it’s really late in the flowering season for new buds. But, there it was.
I looked for flowers on the other cholla on the property and could not see any. I also looked for more buds on this cholla and, likewise, found none. This one flower is very pretty, though. Click on the image to enlarge.
The latest meme in O-land is for Harry Reid to lie and Nancy Pelosi to swear to it. With the economy and jobs market still in shambles, the Administration has no choice but to create diversionary tactics. They certainly cannot run on their record on ANY topic.
OK so if Romney shows his tax records, will Obama show his university transcripts?
Cartoon via The Patriot Post
Congratulations to NASA and JPL team for the safe landing of the Curiosity Mars Science Laboratory.
Mission Information courtesy JPL/NASA:
Mission name: Mars Science Laboratory
Rover name: Curiosity rover
Size: About the size of a small SUV — 10 feet long (not including the arm), 9 feet wide and 7 feet tall — (about 3 meters long (not including the arm), 2.7 meters wide, and 2.2 meters tall), or about the height of a basketball player.
Arm Reach: About 7 feet (2.2 meters)
Weight: 900 kilograms (2,000 pounds)
Features: Geology lab, rocker-bogie suspension, rock-vaporizing laser and lots of cameras
Mission: To search areas of Mars for past or present conditions favorable for life, and conditions capable of preserving a record of life
Launch:
7:02 a.m. PST, Nov. 26, 2011
(10:02 a.m. EST)Landing:
10:31 p.m. PDT, Aug. 5, 2012
(1:31 a.m. EDT, Aug. 6, 2012)Length of mission on Mars: The prime mission will last one Mars year or about 23 Earth months.
Image courtesy JPL/NASA. Click to enlarge
Now that the cactus flowers are gone, the fruit remains. These prickly pears are ripening on a large cactus up the road from here. Click on the image to enlarge.
Today is Cabela’s fourth birthday (according to the Humane Society’s estimate). She was recovered at the Everett Bowman Rodeo grounds here in Wickenburg in August of 2010 and we adopted her shortly after that.
She is in excellent health (we took her to the vet this week for vaccine boosters) and is a very active dog. We over fed her for about eight months before putting her on a diet and now she is at a perfect weight of thirteen pounds.
Click on the image to enlarge.